Snap-in roller



April 25, 1950 STONE 2,505,592

SNAP-IN ROLLER Filed July 25, 1945 Patented Apr. 25, 1950 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE Roy A. Stone, Rockford, Ill, assignor to. National LockCompany Rockford, 111., a corporation oil Delaware Application my 23,1945, Serial No. 606,501.

This. invention relates, to rollers, and particu larly to supportingrollers adapted to be. used in kitchen. cabinets; stoves, refrigerators,radios. and the like for supporting drawers or trays.

In equipping metal articles. of furniture with supporting rollers ofthis. general character, the prevalent practice has been to rivet thesupporting pintle of. such roller to a wall of the metal article. This.manner oi mounting is unsatisfactory, because the assembly lacks in manyin.- stances the requisite strength and durability, but primarily is'objectionable-because it conflicts with the finish of the article. Forinstance if the article has an enamel finish. applied. before therollers are; mounted by rive-ting, the riveting operation chips andinjures the enamel so that an area of the. metal. in the neighborhood ofthe rivet becomes exposedv immediately or later as the cracked enamelchips oil. If, on the other hand, the rollers are mounted before thearticle is enameled, the rollers and their bearings will be coated.along with the rest of the. article so that; the rollers are rendereduseless as an antifriction support.

The primary pu pose of my present invention is to provide: a rollerfor'the purposes above indicatecl which can be mounted on a? previouslyenameled or otherwise finishedv article without injuring the finish ofsuch. article, and which can also be readily removed for replacement orrepair purposes When. necessary without disfiguring or in. anywise.injuring. the finish of the article.

Another purpose of my invention iswto provide a roller which. can bemounted; without the. employment of any tools whatsoever by simplyshoving it through a previously formed opening in. the article. Whenfully seated in. such opening, a pair of spring acting resilient tangssnap into locking position to securely hold the roller againstdisplacement. The construction is also such that when mounted byinsertion through. an opening in the manner indicated, the roller isfirmly held in position so. that it will not rattle or become noisy inuse,

Other purposes and advantages of my invention will. be apparent from thefollowing description. of. a preferred: embodiment thereof whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawing,

E'i'g. I is a side elevation of a roller embodying my invention shown asmounted in operative position;

Fig. 2 is. a plan view thereof;

F-ig. 3 ha bottom view thereof; and

Big. 4 is an elevation exemplifying. the manner or mounting, a roller.

Referring to the: drawing more. in: detail, reference character 5.indicates a supporting member such as a. stationary channel bar orangle. bar serving as a supportlfor a slidable. drawer or tray 6. Foranti-friction purposes rollers (only one of which is here illustra ed)are employed. to support the drawer or tray 6} upon the member 5.

The roller of my invention designed. for this purpose comprisesa sheetmetal body and a roller journaled therein, so as to project beyond theplaneof thebody and carry the movable drawer or tray. The. sheet metalframe, as will be apparent from the drawing. is. made from a singlepiece of metal. bent in. substantially U-shape to provide the side.members 1' and a between which the roller 9 is mounted upon a pintle lI. The bearing of the roller upon the pintle may be of ball or rollertype or a solid roller may be employed, or a plastic. or other type ofroller rotatably mounted in the. frame- The central portion of the topwall of the frame is cut away to permit a segment of. the roller toproject; above the frame, as shown in Fig. I, and the end. portions ofthe top are extended to provide wings I! and [3 projecting,longitudinally beyond the ends of the frame so as to overlie the marginsof the opening [4 formed in the member 5 to receivethe frame.

One of the side walls, asfor instance. the one indicated by referencecharacter 8,. has its ends extended. and iii-turned to form the endwalls 15 and iii of the frame and the upper portion of each. end wall iscut or severed from the side wall 8, as indicated at f T, thus forming.a pair of tapes I& and [9 which are biased outwardly so thatwhen theframeis projected through the opening; [4 they will spring outwardlyinto lock.- ing position and. by engagement with the under face of thesupporting member 5 prevent retraction of the frame from. theopening- Inthis manner the roller is. automatically locked in its. supportingmember as soon as it is post. tinned. therein. In order that. the rollerframe will be snugly held against rattling and vibration during use. Iprefer inthe, manufacture of the frame to have the projecting wings [2'and [3 incline. downwardly,. asillustrated in Fig. 4. When the frame isforced into position through. the; opening. i l in the, support 5',these wings will be placed. under tension before the locking tangs i8and Iii spring into locking position. 'Ifhe ten.- si'on exerted by thewings, therefore,- holds the frame against, rattling in the support.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that I have provided a simpleroller structure which requires no tools for its mounting in a support,but which can be snapped into position by simply projecting the framestructure through an opening in the support and pressing it inwardlyagainst the yielding tension of the wings l2 and i3 until the lockingtangs spring outwardly into looking position. Furthermore, thesupporting member may be enameled or otherwise finished before thepulleys are mounted therein and the finish of whatever character is notinjured or defaced by the subsequent mounting of the rollers.

The structural details illustrated'and described may obviously be variedwithin considerable limits without exceeding the scope of my inventionas defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a snap-in roller, comprising a, frame adapted to be projectedthrough an opening in a supporting member, and a roller journaled in andextending beyond the confines of the frame, said frame being shaped toloosely fit said opening and having wings extending outwardly therefromto limit the extent of projection of the frame through said opening andhaving resilient tangs protruding from the end walls of th frame inposition to engage a face of the supporting member and oppose retractionof the frame therefrom.

2. A snap-in mechanism carrier, comprising a frame formed of sheet metalto provide side and end walls and a top wall having spaced resilientwings projecting beyond the confines of the frame, said end walls beingprovided with resilient tangs projecting outwardly from said walls inspaced relation to said wings so that the opposite faces of a supportingmember on which said frame is mounted may be engaged by said wings andtangs respectively, and a mechanism carried by said frame.

3. A snap-in mechanism carrier, comprising a sheet metal frame and amechanism disposed therein and mounted between the side walls thereof,said frame consisting of side walls, end walls and top walls, the topwalls being extended to provide holding wings and the end walls beingunconnected with the side walls throughout a portion of their depth toprovide resilient tangs biased outwardly beyond the confines of theframe to cooperate with said wings in holding said frame in mountedposition in an opening of a support.

4. A snap-in mechanism carrier, comprising a frame and a mechanismcarried therein, said frame being formed as an integral unit from asingle piece of sheet metal cut and shaped to provide side walls, endwalls and top walls for the frame, said top walls being extendedlongitudinally'to form Wings, said wings being inclined downwardlytoward their extremities, the end walls of the frame being disconnectedfrom the side walls throughout a portion of their depth and bentoutwardly at their free ends to form resilient tangs cooperable withsaidwings to hold the frame againstdisplacement from an opening in asupporting member shaped to receive said frame.

5. A snap-in frame adapted to house a mechanism and to be disposedthrough and within an opening in a supporting member, comprising a pieceof sheet metal formed to provide a pair of opposite side walls and apair of opposite end walls, each wall of one pairof wall having its freeend directed away from the opposite wall of such pair to provide a wing,each wall of a pair having a tang struck therefrom and projectingoutwardly therefrom and away from the opposite wall of such pair and inspaced relation to said wings, one of said wings being inclined in adirection toward a plane tangent to the free ends of said tangs, thevertical distance between said plane and a parallel plane tangent to theadjacent closest portion of said inclined wing being lessthan thethickness of the marginal edge of a supporting member at the opening inwhich the frame is to be disposed.

6. In a device to be secured to a supporting member and within anopening in the member and wherein the opening in the member is, in partat 1east,'defined by substantially opposite marginal edges of the memberat the opening and wherein the said edges are of predeterminedthickness, a metal frame including substantially oppositely disposedWalls spaced apart at on corresponding end of each by a distanceslightly less than the distance between said marginal edges, a flangeintegral with each of said corresponding wall ends and each projectingin a direction opposite to the other flange and adapted to overlie saidmarginal edges at one side of the supporting member, and each of saidwalls having a tang. struck outwardly therefrom in a directioncorresponding to the flange on the end of such wall with the free end ofthe tang directed generally toward such flange, the outer end of eachflange being inclined outwardly and downwardly toward a plane tangent tothe free edges of said tangs so that the vertical distance between saidplane and a plane tangent to the free edges of the flanges is less thanthe said predetermined thickness of the said marginal edges of saidsupporting member, said flanges being stressable within their elasticlimits by at least the difference between said distance and thickness.

7. A snap-in carrier of the character described comprising a metal framebody having a pair of spaced and generally oppositely extending flanges,a wall integral with the body and extending at an angle less than astraight angle with respect to a plane tangent to the junctures of saidflanges with the body, and a resilient tang struck'outwardly from thesaid wall at an angle less than thereto and having a free end projectingupwardly in the general direction of said flanges, said flanges beingresilient and their outer portions being pre-set downwardly at an angleless than 90 to said plane tangent to their junctures with the body, thevertical distance between said plane and a substantially parallel planetangent to the upper end of said tang being greater than a correspondingmeasurement between the plane tangent to the upper end of the tang and asubstantially parallel plane contacting the outer ends of said flan-gesJj 8. A snap-in carrier of the character described comprising a metalframe body having a top wall, a pair of spaced and generally oppositelyextending flanges integral with said top wall, a second wall integralwith the top-wall and extending at an angle less than a straight'anglethereo, and

4 a resilient tang struck outwardly from the second wall at an angleless than 90? thereto and having a free end projecting upwardly in thegeneral di rection of said flanges, said flanges being resilient andtheir outer portions being pre-set downward-' ly at. an angle less than90 to a plane tangent to their junctures with the body, the verticaldistance between said plane and a substantially parallel plane tangentto the upper end of said tang being greater, than a correspondingmeasurement between the plane tangent to the upper end of the tang and asubstantially parallel plane contacting the outer ends of said flanges.

9. A snap-in carrier for a mechanism to be attached to and supported bya supporting member having an aperture in a wall thereof and wherein theaperture is defined, in part at least, by sub stantially oppositemarginal edges of the member at the aperture and wherein a marginal edgede fining said wall aperture at a place intermediate of saidsubstantially opposite edges has a surface facing inwardly of the wall,comprising a resilient metal frame having a pair of substantiallyoppositely directed portions adapted to over-lie exteriorly facingsurfaces 0f said substantially opposite marginal edges, the outer endsof said portions being directed outwardly from the frame and rearwardlytoward that part of the frame which will be disposed inwardly of theaperture, and a resilient tang attached to said frame rearwardly of saidportions and projecting outward and forward therefrom toward a planethat is transverse to the frame and substantially parallel to the saidexterior-1y facing surfaces, said tang being adapted to engage saidinwardly facing surface, the vertical distance between the outer ends ofsaid portions and the outward and forward end of said tang as measuredperpendicularly to said plane being less than the corresponding verticaldistance between said exterior-1y and inwardly facing surfaces.

10. A snap-in carrier for a mechanism to be attached to and supported bya supporting member having an aperture in a wall thereof and wherein theaperture is defined, in part at least, by substantially oppositemarginal edges of the member at the aperture and wherein a marginal edgedefining said wall aperture at a place intermediate of saidsubstantially opposite edges has a surface facing inwardly of the wall,comprising a, resilient metal frame having a pair of substantiallyoppositely directed portions adapted to over-lie exteriorly facingsurfaces of said substantially opposite marginal edges, the outer endsof said portions being directed outwardly from the frame and rearwardlytoward that part of the frame which will be disposed inwardly of theaperture, and a thrust member attached to said frame rearwardly of saidportions and projecting forward therefrom toward a plane that isgenerally parallel to the said oppositely directed portions, said thrustmember having a forward end adapted to engage said inwardly facingsurface, the vertical distance between the outer ends of said portionsand the forward end of said thrust member as measured perpendicularly tosaid plane being less than the corresponding vertical distance betweensaid exteriorly and inwardly facing surfaces.

11. In a device to be secured to a supporting member and within anopening in the member and wherein the opening in the member is, in partat least, defined by substantially opposite marginal edges of the memberat the opening and wherein the said edges are of predeterminedthickness, a metal frame including a side wall and an end wallprojecting transversely of the side wall at one end thereof, a resilientflange integral with the frame adjacent to each end of said side walland each flange projecting in a direction opposite to the other flangeand adapted to overlie said marginal edges at one side marginal edges ofthe member at said side wall, one of of the supporting member, one ofsaid walls having a tang struck outwardly therefrom with its free endpointing in an upward direction generally toward the said flanges and.toward the general plane of said marginal edges, the outer end of eachflange being pre-set to incline outwardly and downwardly toward a planetangent to the free edge of said tang and parallel to said general planeso that the vertical distance between said tangent plane and saidgeneral plane is less than the said predetermined thickness of the saidmarginal edges of said supporting member, said flanges being stressablewithin their elastic limits by at least the difference between saiddistance and thickness.

12. In a device to be secured to a supporting member and within anopening in the member and wherein the opening in the member is, in partat least, defined by substantially opposite the opening and wherein thesaid edges are of predetermined thickness, a metal frame including aside wall and substantially oppositely disposed end walls spaced apartat one corresponding end of each by a distance slightly less than thedista ce between said marginal edges, a, resilient flange integral withthe frame adjacent to each of said corresponding end walls and eachflange projecting in a direction opposite to the other flange andadapted to overlie said marginal edges at one side of the supportingmember, and one of said walls having a tang struck outwardly therefromwith its free end pointing in an upward direction generally toward thesaid flanges and toward the general plane of said marginal edges, theouter end of each flange being pre-set to incline outwardly anddownwardly toward a plane tangent to the free edge of said tang andparallel to said general plane so that the vertical distance betweensaid tangent plane and said general plane is less than the saidpredetermined thickness of the said marginal edges of said supportingmember, said flanges being stressable within their elastic limits by atleast the difference between said distance and thickness.

13. The combination with a supporting member provided with an opening,of a frame comprising a side wall proportioned to be projected throughsaid opening, an end wall attached to said walls being provided with aresilient outwardly projecting tang adapted to engage the inner face ofsaid support to prevent retraction of the frame from said opening, saidframe being provided with a plurality Of resiliently deflectable wingsspaced apart and from said tang, said wings engaging the outer surfaceof the support and cooperable with said tang to snugly hold said framein mounted position, said wings continuously exerting resilient pressuretoward said tang against said outer surface, said wings and tang tendingto compress said support therebetween.

ROY A. STONE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,113,535 Cuno et a1 Apr. 5, 19382,340,988 Ryder Feb. 8, 1944

